Kyle Busch ran third, followed by reigning series champion James Buescher and Ryan Blaney.

“To beat Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, two of the best drivers on four wheels right now, is pretty special,” Dillon said. “I want to be like them some day.”

Dillon took his time tracking down Busch in the closing laps and picked his spot with 25 to go.

“My car just took off at the end,” Dillon said. “I knew I was faster, so I just really tried not to kill my car, kill my tires, and it finally came to us. I got a good run through (Turns) 1 and 2 and got by him in 3 and 4. It (Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet) turned into a rocket ship there at the end.

“I wasn’t that great in the beginning and the middle, but (crew chief) Marcus (Richmond) and the guys kept digging and kept digging.”

Rookie Darrell Wallace Jr. spun in Turn 3 on Lap 86, racing in close quarters underneath the No. 29 of Blaney, to cause the fifth caution on Lap 86. Wallace had led a race-high 54 laps to that point but had to take his No. 54 Toyota to the garage for repairs.

Wallace, who had perhaps the fastest truck in the race, was disappointed but philosophical.

“I though I had it, and I think if he (Blaney) wasn’t there and already gone that I might have saved it and just lost more positions,” Wallace said. “Just hard racing. I’m still trying to figure these (trucks) out. I’m a rookie—that’s what the yellow stripes are for (on the bumpers of rookies’ cars and trucks).”

The accident left Busch, Wallace’s car owner, in charge of the proceedings, at least for a while. Busch pulled away from Blaney after a restart on Lap 91 and held an advantage of 1.035 by the time the race reached Lap 100.

But Bryan Silas’ spin in Turn 4 slowed the field again on Lap 108, giving the lead-lap cars a chance to pit and pick up enough fuel to finish the race.

Busch fought off a challenge from Blaney on Lap 118, forcing the 19-year-old driver into the outside wall. Blaney damaged the right side of his truck but was able to hold the fifth position.

Moments after the contact, Dillon began to mount his challenge and eventually passed Busch, whose truck had developed a drastically loose handling condition, on Lap 125. Keselowski passed Busch for the runner-up spot on Lap 138 but had nothing for Dillon in the final 12 circuits.